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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoNeal C. Lauron | Dispatch file photoThe Common Core education standards have become a recent flash point in the conflict between tea party groups and state and federal governments.

When a local tea party group invited the Worthington school district to discuss new national
education standards, which the district backs but the conservative group doesn’t, the
superintendent knew the meeting could be volatile.

He could have declined. Leaders of other districts have avoided meetings with potential critics.
Instead, Superintendent Thomas Tucker brought four colleagues to the tea party event and dissected
the Common Core standards for two hours.

There were some heated moments. And leaders of the conservative group agreed that few in the
crowd were likely swayed, despite an appeal that the standards, like the tea party, include a focus
on constitutional documents.

Regardless, both sides called the meeting a success.

“It does go a long way as we continue to build a relationship with the school district,” said
Jeremy Anderson, the president of the Worthington tea party. “I think there was a tremendous
respect for what the district presented.”

Experts say that, as touchy as such meetings can be, they can help ease tensions between schools
and groups that tend to mistrust government.

“Tea party people at the grassroots level are definitely alienated in the sense that they feel
government at all levels is ignoring them,” said Theda Skocpol, a Harvard University government and
sociology professor.

“The local dialogue is a very good thing, and it’s good for the school board, too, to hear what
they have to say, as long as they don’t expect to win anybody over,” added Skocpol, who has studied
and written about the tea party.

But not all districts have embraced the opportunity to meet with political groups.

The Dublin school board declined an invitation last year to speak at a forum hosted by the
Dublin Republican Club. Past leaders in the Gahanna-Jefferson district would meet with a local
conservative group only on school property.

On the other side, conservative groups in the area have been more likely to invite Common Core
opponents than supporters to their meetings. And some tea party groups question whether district
officials would take their concerns seriously.

“The key differentiating factor may be whether the district school board has a member
sympathetic to the tea party movement,” Paul Beck, an Ohio State University political science
professor, wrote in an email.

In Worthington, for example, conservative school-board member Marc Schare helped arrange the
meeting with the tea party. Without an intermediary, district leaders might be understandably
reluctant to meet, Skocpol said.

“Some school administrators may not feel confident, and since people do get attacked (verbally)
in these meetings, you can see why someone might be frightened if they didn’t have a personal
contact,” she said.

The Common Core standards, in particular, have become a recent flash point in the conflict
between tea party groups and state and federal governments. Tea party members are worried that the
standards will weaken local control over schools. Tea party groups have backed a bill to repeal
Common Core in Ohio.

In Worthington, party members said they worry the standards will lead to excessive collection of
student data and will require students to read books with sexually graphic scenes, such as Toni
Morrison’s
The Bluest Eye.

Neither is likely to happen in Worthington, Tucker and his colleagues told the group. Some said
they trust the district to do right. Others said they weren’t convinced. At the end, Anderson
lauded the district’s openness.

“Really,” he told the school officials as he closed the meeting, “thanks for taking time knowing
that there may be some not-so-friendly questions.”